Missionaries Stuck in the Mud

June 4, 1936  John one-wayed.  I hoed in the garden, and Mama also hoed.  In the evening it rained heavily, 1 inch.  That gave us the opportunity to help conference people who got stuck.  They were John Barkmans, missionaries to Africa, and Noah Smokers.

Many of the roads around Meade were only dirt; so when it rained, they got very muddy.  While rain in the Dirty Thirties was always welcome, it could create havoc for travel.  The Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church at Meade was having a conference, and the speakers at the conference must have gotten stuck.  It must have been close enough to the Siemens farm that Cornelius could see it, so he went to help pull them out of the mud.  Of course, he would have gotten acquainted and found out who they were and what they did.
 
Apparently, Cornelius could not get the Barkman's car out of the mud, so they probably spent the night at the Siemens.  The next day Cornelius notes that they got the Barkmans car out that day.